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Vol. 30, No.6 November/December 2019 Vol. 30, No.6 November/December 2019 A CHINMAYA MISSION SAN JOSE PUBLICATION MISSION STATEMENT To provide to individuals, from any background, the wisdom of Vedanta and practical means for spiritual growth and happiness, enabling them to become a positive contributor to the society. TheC particularhinmaya form that the L greatahari Lord took in the name of Sri Swami Tapovanam has dissolved, and he has gone back to merge into his own Nature. He has now become the Essence in each one of us. Wherever we find the glow of divine compassion, love, purity, and brilliance, there we see Sri Gurudev (Swami Tapovanji) with his ever-smiling face. He has left his sheaths. He has now become the Self in all of us. Ours is a great responsibility. It is not sufficient that only we ourselves evolve–we must learn to release him to visible expression everywhere. It is a glorious chance to take a sacred oath that we shall not rest contented until he is fulfilled. SWAMI CHINMAYANANDA from My Teacher, Swami Tapovanam CONTENTS Volume 30 No. 6 November/December 2019 From The Editors Desk . 2 Chinmaya Tej Editorial Staff . 2 We Stand as One Family . 3 The Glory of Saṁnāsa . 10 The Ethos of Spirituality . 13 Friends of Swami Chinmayananda . 20 Tapovan Prasad . 21 Chinmaya Study Groups . 22 Adult Classes at Sandeepany . 23 Shiva Abhisheka & Puja . 23 Bala Vihar/Yuva Kendra & Language Classes . 24 Gita Chanting Classes for Children . 25 Vedanta Study Groups - Adult Sessions . 26 Swaranjali Youth Choir . 28 BalViHar Magazine . 29 Community Outreach Program . 30 Receptivity . 31 Swami Swaroopananda’s Itinerary . 32 FROM THE EDITORS DESK is mailed to all Chinmaya Mission Chinmaya-Tej San Jose Members, and is also available for viewing on . If you’re a member and you don’t receive your cmsj.org , please send us an email with your issue of Chinmaya-Tej address, using the contact information below. The website also include information on events and regular updates. Our thanks to the many Member families. We have room for more Members. Please invite your friends to join the larger Chinmaya Family of the Bay Area. Annual Contribution $500 CMSJ MEMBERSHIP Annual Subscription $50 CHINMAYA-TEJ only) Chinmaya-Tej (Receive CHINMAYA TEJ EDITORIAL STAFF EDITOR Uma Jeyarasasingam / [email protected] CO-EDITOR Rohini Joshi ELECTRONIC EDITORIAL ADVISOR Satish Joshi CONTRIBUTORS Swami Nikhilananda Saraswati, Swami Tapovanam, Swami Tejomayananda DESIGN & LAYOUT four waters media, inc. PRINTING PigMint Press, Redway, CA DATA BASE Kapil Vaish MAILING Autozip, Ukiah, CA WEBSITE & PHONE cmsj.org / (650) 969-4389 We Stand as One Family continued from September/October 2019 issue We serve as an army courageous and disciplined ever ready to fight against all low tendencies and false values within and without us. Service becomes total, only if we listen to the commands and obey without question. Service makes a person humble but it must be performed with discipline. In the Ramayana, after Sita had concluded her Avatār, Lord Yama came to have dialogue with Rama. The precondition to the talks was that their conversation should be uninterrupted. Anyone interrupting must be given the supreme punishment of death. Such being the gravity of the situation, Rama summoned Lakshmana and explained the whole position to him. He selected him because he knew that he could be implicitly trusted to obey his commands. Just then, as luck would have it, Durvasa Riṣi arrived to meet Sri Rama and wanted instant audience. He refused to be stopped from entering the inner chambers. Durvasa Riṣi was Shiva’s Avatār and had a terrible temper. When Lakshmana stopped him from entering Sri Rama’s chambers his wrath knew no bounds. He threatened to curse all of Ayodhya turning everything to ashes. Lakshmana was in a dilemma. He knew that Durvasa Riṣi was capable of implementing his threat. Ayodhya was dear to Rama and so its safety became Lakshmana’s BY SWAMI NIKHILANANDA SARASWATI (Central Chinmaya Trust Publications, 2009) 3 concern. He loved Ayodhya as his own mother and so made the supreme sacrifice of offering his life. He saved Ayodhya and spared Rama from the difficult situation of giving the death penalty to a Riṣi. Lakshmana stepped into the chambers. Sri Rama was shocked to see him, because they both knew the consequences. He had given his word and Lord Yama held him to his promise. Lakshmana was dearer to Sri Rama than any one else but he had given his word and the sanctity of the given promise had to be upheld. The Scriptures say that if you disown your loved ones it is like killing them. Lakshmana who had served Sri Rama so faithfully was told to leave. He understood the situation and accepted the verdict. He also knew that Bhagavān was not angry with him. Being so much a part of Sri Rama, Lakshmana felt that his life was futile if he could not serve his master and so gave up his body by taking jal samādhi. When Sri Rama heard of this he too decided to end his Avatār and took Samādhi. The dharma of a sevak is very difficult. People may or may not understand, but Bhagavān understands so we must continue to work for Him. Soldiers in the army go to the front, fully accepting the dangers to life. They even stop bullets with their bodies, in the interest of the country. They give up their lives so that their fellow countrymen can live in peace. They show us how to live courageously, which is how Gurudev wants us to work. Even in the face of adversity we must not give up. We must continue to strive towards our goal. On the spiritual path courage is very important because one may have to face many obstacles. In the 16th Chapter of the Gītā, Bhagavān enumerates the divine qualities and fearlessness heads the list. A person who fears loss, separation or death cannot walk this path. One must have the courage to face and talk to Death, like Nachiketa did. Along with courage there must be discipline as well, because reckless 4 courage like reckless driving can only land us in trouble. Even restraint requires courage. Hanuman was present when Sita was being threatened by Ravana in Ashok Vatika. He could have revealed himself and fought but prudently decided to wait for the right time. And when the time was right he fought valiantly and courageously. “Ever ready to fight” — an army must be vigilant and always alert. Sant Tukaram was a great saint. He claimed to have learned the virtue of alertness from other saints. Gurudev was like that, always alert. He would notice every minute detail, so while serving him we also had to be like him. Once Gurudev decided to check the arrangements being made for the Vishnu Sahasranāma Pūja and even noticed that the lamps were not kept in one single, straight line. The work of the Māhātmās is to discipline us, teach us work culture and keep us alert. If we work with the feeling that Gurudev and the Scriptures are watching over us, we will be more efficient. I met someone who said that, when he is confused he gives himself the ‘Mom Test and Dad Test.’ He asks himself, in the present situation what would my father or mother do and immediately gets the correct answer. We can add to these the Ṣāstra test or the Guru test. Ask yourself, “Would my Guru be happy if I served him in this manner?” If the answer is in the affirmative, then we may continue. If not then we must change our thinking and habits. We must be ever ready to fight. In the Gītā, Bhagavān tells Arjuna that he must be ready to fight for the cause of dharma. The pledge tells us, “to fight against all low tendencies and false values.” These are our enemies. The Gītā says that for a seeker, kāma (desire) and krodha (anger) are deadly enemies. What is it that makes us act against our convictions? 5 Bhagavān says that man’s intense desire is the spark that ignites the fire of anger. Our unsaturated desires are the fuel that feed the forces of anger and frustration, prompting us to perform actions that we may later repent. Bhagavān says that we need not look for our enemies outside ourselves. The Scriptures point to our six hidden enemies - kāma (desire), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), moha (delusion), mada (arrogance) and matsar (jealousy). In life control over kāma and krodha brings us victory. If our desires are not fulfilled we become angry and their fulfillment makes us greedy, wanting more and more. Desires also create delusion in our hearts. If we achieve our goals we become proud and if we feel that the neighbor has more than us, we begin to experience the stirrings of jealousy. Desires, which are in keeping with the fulfillment of our duties, do not create any of these problems. It is irrational desires that need to be rooted out. When our senses go wild they are like enemies. We have to be alert and vigilant and make efforts to uproot wrong desires, make the mind calm and establish it in the Truth. In the Gītā Krishna says, that rāga and dveśa (likes and dislikes) rise in the mind and manifest in our actions. These devils on the seeker’s path are capable of raising their heads at the most unlikely moments. Even from the depths of meditation we can become agitated if a stray thought of the enemy arises in the mind. We have to conquer these twin enemies through sincere effort, proper thinking, sustained satsaṅg, prayer and love.
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